Think Vegas in January, baby — yes, we’re talkin’ about SHOT Show (Jan. 23-26, 2018). Registration for the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s 2018 SHOT Show is now open for all Attendees, Exhibitors, and Media. Register online now at Shotshow.org. The SHOT Show hotel booking system is also active. It’s a good idea to reserve rooms early to get the best rates. SHOT Show organizers have negotiated deeply discounted rates at dozens of Las Vegas hotels, with prices as low as $56 per night. However, some of the most popular affiliated hotels are already sold out. And sometimes you can get better deals through websites such as Priceline and Trivago.com.

Scheduled for January 23-26 in Las Vegas, the big gun industry convention is just two months away. While registering, attendees can enroll in SHOT Show University, and/or sign up for other educational offerings. Sorry, the Industry Dinner is already sold out.

SHOT Show is NOT open to the general public. To attend you need to have an affiliation with a gun industry company, retailer, or media outlet. That said, thousands of non-professionals attend each year, receiving credentials from gun shops, parts distributors, retailers and the like.

Do you enjoy shooting pistols for sport, or perhaps you carry a handgun for self-defense? If you’re like most of us, you might benefit from a “refresher course” on the fundamentals of handgun shooting. The NRA has created a useful Infographic that covers important basics of handgun marksmanship — key things such as Sight Alignment and Trigger Control. Here are the first two (2) lessons. Click the link below to see all SIX (6) training topics: Sight Alignment, Sight Focus, Trigger Control, Breath Control, Hold Control, and Follow-Through.

Video Shows Sight Alignment, Grip, Stance, Trigger Control and More
In this USAMU video, SGT Shane Coley talks about the basics of sight alignment and trigger control. But then SGT Coley talks about other important control factors such as grip, arm position, and body stance. For rapid-fire shooting, you need to have a good arm and body positioning to control recoil and get back on target quickly. This video is a valuable complement to the NRA Infographic because it demonstrates all the important pistol fundamentals during live fire, at the range.

With good factory rifle ammo costing $1.00 per round — a Laser BoreSighter could pay for itself in just a couple range sessions.

Laser BoreSighters — fitted to your chamber — help you get on target more quickly, particularly with factory firearms. Just activate the unit, slip it into the chamber and look for the red dot on the target. The laser dot is about 2″ in diameter at 100 yards, and is visible even in full sunlight. Right now you can get HQ Issue BoreSighters for just $14.99 at Sportsman’s Guide (member price is $13.49). These units have a durable brass metal body and the battery will run an hour. Boresighters are offered for numerous popular rifle cartridge types including: .223 Rem, .22-250, 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Win family, and .30-06 (full list below). Sportsman’s Guide also offers Pistol Laser BoreSighters for $17.99 (pistol chamberings: .38 SPL/.357 Mag, .40 SW, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP).

In-chamber BoreSighters are much safer than the kind that you insert in the end of the barrel (or attach to muzzle). If you forget your laser bore-sight placed in the end of the barrel, and then fire a round, you can blow up your barrel and/or suffer serious injury — it HAS happened,.